Chapter Seven

Question 1

Describe height and weight changes in early childhood as well as the developmental changes of the brain during early childhood.

Answer 1

• Average growth is 2.5 inches and 5 to seven pounds per year during early childhood.
• Two most important contributors to height differences : Ethic origin and nutrition.
• Brain growth slows during early childhood. Brain reaches 95 percent of adult volume by the age of 6.
• Rapid, distant, spurts of growth , especially in frontal lobes.

Question 2

Discuss the nutritional needs , eating behaviors nutritional problems and obesity in early childhood.

Answer 2

*Obesity: Strongly influenced by caregivers behavior.
11% of 2-19 year olds are obese, 10% overweight, 38% at risk of being overweight.
U.S. has second highest rate of childhood obesity.
Malnutrition in young children from low-income families: 11 million preschool children are experiencing malnutrition. Biggest problem is iron deficiency

Question 3

Describe Piaget’s preoperational stage of cognitive development.

Answer 3

Ages 2-7 years.
Children represent the world with words, images, and drawings.
Children form stable concepts and begin to reason. Cognition’s are dominated by ethnocentrism and magical beliefs.

Question 4

Define and describe the term egocentrism and conservation.

Answer 4

Egocentrism: cannot distinguish one’s own perspective from someone else’s
.Conservation: altering a substance’s appearance does not change its basic properties.

Question 5

Discuss Vygotsky’s idea of the zone of proximal development and scaffolding.

Answer 5

Zone of proximal development: range of tasks that are too difficult for the child to learn alone but can be learned with guidance.
Scaffolding: changing level of support during a teaching session.